What now?
by LLS1105
Summary: Juliette and Avery deal with the aftermath of her almost-confession. Post 2x10. (speculations based on spoilers)
1. Chapter 1 - Sleepless night

**Avery's POV**

"She looked upset."

What was he supposed to say? The truth? A lie? Something in between...

"The festival was pretty intense. The paps kept harassing her about this Charlie Wentworths' rumor and then her fans turned on her, almost booed her out of stage. "

"Poor Juliette!"

"Yeah, she was so rattled, she froze in the middle of a song. I helped her finish it. I guess she came to thank me."

"That was sweet of you. Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"It's no big deal. Just doing my job."

And just like that she believed him. It wasn't completely false. It wasn't completely true either. And he felt awful. Awful for lying to Scarlett, after Gunnar and Zoe sneaked behind her back. Awful for Juliette, because he hadn't run after her. Awful because he had wanted to. So badly.

"All I want is to be a person who gets to say I love you and really mean it..." Those words kept haunting him. He didn't sleep that night. He kept seeing her hopeful face as she laid it on the line. For him for crying out loud!

He was trying to understand when that happened. When did he start feeling _that way _about Juliette. Maybe it was always there. In the air. Since the moment they collided at the Opry, a year ago. He had really wanted to be her friend. He never hoped for or wanted more. He was in love with Scarlett right?

If he were honest with himself he had felt it that night. When she told him she remembered their first meeting. But it was so fleeting, Scarlett phone call had interrupted them, that he thought he might have imagined it. Something he was sure he hadn't imagined though was that nagging feeling he wasn't being completely honest with Scarlett. The picture had become clearer at the festival. He had felt it again. That connection. Juliette's fear fading as she kept singing, her eyes never leaving his. It was like they were alone on that stage.

Later when she told him about Charlie wanting to leave his wife for her, he felt a grip around his heart as he asked her if she loved him. Why did it hurt him physically to know she might be in love with someone else? Friends aren't supposed to feel that way. That's why he couldn't even look Scarlett in the eyes when she started going on about him always being honest with her. The truth is up until last night, he hadn't even been honest with himself.

And then she showed up at his door. He felt so conflicted, because he wanted her to finish that sentence "I want to be a person who gets to say I love you and really mean it, so..." but at the same time he was so scared she would say it out loud. What had been building between them for months. It was too soon. Scarlett was here and he hadn't even got his own head around it yet. He kept looking at his phone, wishing and dreading at the same time. He wanted to call her, but to say what? "Look, the thing you wanted to tell me, I might feel the same way (I do) but I can't right now because I'm basically in a kinda relationship with my ex, who feels really lonely because two of her best friends betrayed her and she hates life on tour."

He couldn't do that to Scarlett. She had forgiven him after he treated her so awfully. He cared so much about her, she was his first love. He wanted to be there for her, just like she'd been there for him all these years. And now what? "Well thank you for your support and forgiveness, but I want someone else."

But what about Juliette? She had been so brave coming here. The girl who "didn't believe in love" came to his house in the middle of the night to tell him...tell him... God even thinking about it triggered a rush of panic in him. Could she ever forgive him for being such a blind coward? He had pursued Scarlett not even stopping to wonder why he wanted her back so badly. Was it really love or maybe familiarity? Redemption? He knew Juliette. She would never put her heart on the line again for him. She had let him in, it had cost her, but she did. All those months, getting to know each other, becoming friends, growing closer. She had let him _see her_. And the more he saw her, the more he...

**Juliette's POV**

You are a stupid fool. Showing up in the middle of the night to confess like a lovesick teenager in a stupid romcom! I mean really? And why would you think he felt the same way? Sure he has been there for you, without asking anything in return, not even a paycheck. How can someone be so clueless? It's called being a friend, you idiot. You never had one of those, so of course you would confuse friendly support for undying love.

He loves Scarlett.

He was just trying to be a good friend. He never did or say anything that would imply more. And you ruined it. The only real friend you ever had.

Argh!

And his face, his eyes. What was that? Fear? Embarassment? Pity? Yes, pity. God he feels pity for you! You can never let him, or anyone else for that matter, see you humiliate yourself that way ever again.

That love business, it's just not for you. It's made for sweet innocent girls like Scarlett. You're way too jaded for this. Who needs the aggravation anyway? You need to focus on what's important right now. Your music. Gaining your fans' support again. Finishing the tour. That's what's important.

If you could only stop seeing his eyes...


	2. Chapter 2 - The Distance

"Things are getting bad to worse for Country star Juliette Barnes. She's now targeted by Extremist Christian groups for her controversial remarks about God. As you can see on this exclusive video ..."

That was bad. Really bad. Why couldn't she get a break? And this journalist keeps putting the video of the paint attack on a loop, like she gets off on that or something. He needed to do something. He couldn't just stay here doing nothing while Juliette...

"Hey what are you watching?"

Changing channel rapidly "Nothing, just looking for something decent to watch on TV.".

She took the remote from his hand and turned off the TV. Then made him stand up and hugged him.

"What's that for?"

"You've been so wonderful to me those last few weeks. Listening to me complain about Gunnar and Zoe, the tour. You know I feel so much better now about...everything really. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there. So thank you."

"I'm glad you're feeling better. You know I just want you to be happy right?"

"I know."

Well that was just great. If he couldn't feel any worse. Scarlett thinks he's such a great guy, but he's just the same selfish jerk he's always been. A girl in his arms, and he's thinking of another girl. Wishing she was the one he comforted. The one he could make feel better about everything.

* * *

"Well that's just great. So now I'm a home wrecker atheist. This will go so well with my oh-so-understanding fan base".

"Juliette are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay? My fans have turned on me. I just got attacked by a crazy extremist. And my record sales are hitting new lows. Everything is just swell."

"I'd rather you screamed or got drunk, or I don't know fire me. I don't like seeing you so calm."

"I'm fine Glenn. Seriously. I'm just trying the zen approach. No need to throw a fit. What we need is a plan of action. Call my lawyers, we need to file a suit for defamation or something. And get in touch with "The View". I have to do an interview, but make sure they don't ask anything about the Wentworths."

"Ok, I'll get right on that. Are you okay staying alone?"

"I'm fine, you can go." He looked at her suspiciously.

"I swear to god if you stay one minute longer you're fired".

"That's the Juliette Barnes I know and love". He left feeling better about her state of mind.

She turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. She was Juliette Barnes. She could do anything. She survived a drug addict mother, trailer park upbringing, an almost sex tape scandal, and her mother murdering her ex. She can do it. She doesn't need _him_ holding her hand. She doesn't need his pity.

* * *

This was torture. Not being able to talk to her. Not knowing how she was. But he felt like he didn't have the right to. They had been friends, or so he thought, but now it felt wrong calling her like that's all they were. When he knew they were so much more. But he also knew he couldn't be honest with Juliette as long as he couldn't be honest with Scarlett.

One message. One tiny message wouldn't be a big deal though, right? If he didn't do anything she might think he didn't care. And that would be so much worse.

He stared at his phone for what felt like hours then hit the button send. No going back now.

* * *

"Are you okay? Can I call you?"

Then a few minutes later "Please?"

She couldn't tear off her eyes from her phone. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. Was that tears? No, she won't cry about something she can't have. Not anymore. She'll have her assistant get her another phone, again. She didn't need _him_. Nor his pity.

* * *

She hadn't answered. It had been 2 days and she hadn't answered. The message was pretty clear though. She didn't want anything to do with him. No surprise here. He knew the moment she saw a half naked Scarlett coming out of his bedroom she wouldn't let him near her ever again. Maybe he needed to respect that. Give her space. Who was he kidding? She already had all the space she wanted those last few years struggling to get on top. Unattached, unavailable, no commitment to anyone or anything but herself. He won't let her do that again.

Next Juliette Barnes concert: Atlanta. How long was the drive to Atlanta again?


	3. Chapter 3 - Rock bottom

"I'm sorry Juliette. I tried everything. I guess they're just scared of the backslash and what it could..."

She could see Glenn moving his lips but she was not interested in his explanations. The fact was: the venues were dropping her. She was losing everything she worked so hard for and there was nothing she could do about it. Her eyes started wandering. She needed alcohol. No something stronger. For the first time in her life she understood what her mum must have felt like. When everything goes to hell, all you want is something to numb the pain, just to stop those thoughts running through your mind. Just stop everything.

"Well Glenn, there's nothing we can do about it tonight anyway. What we need is a good night of sleep and everything will look clearer in the morning I'm sure."

Juliette was calm, too calm. He didn't like this at all. He should have said something, insist on staying with her but he figured that whole Charlie Wentworth debacle might have got her to mature a little after all. He probably should call that Avery kid tomorrow though, just in case. He always had a good influence on her, he seemed to get her. God knows, even after all these years working for her, he had no idea how to deal with her sometimes.

* * *

"The number you're calling is not active or out of coverage area. Please try again later."

So she was either screening her calls or she simply changed her number. That sounded like Juliette. Throwing away things she wouldn't deal with. This time he wouldn't let her though.

"Glenn, it's Avery Barkley, I was wondering if Juliette had changed her number because I keep getting those..."

"Avery! I was about to call you! Look, things are not going well with Juliette's tour. We had to cancel a few dates. Venues are boycotting her because of that whole God does not exist video and I'm very worried about her."

"She tried to rip your face off?"

"No, she 's being way too mature and calm about everything. Saying things like, tomorrow is another day. I don't know if she's been watching _Gone with the wind_ one too many times, but that certainly isn't the Juliette Barnes' way of dealing with setbacks."

"No, that doesn't sound like her at all. Where is she?"

"Well we're at Atlanta right now..."

"No I know, I'm here too. I mean where is she staying?"

"She's at the Regent. She asked not to be disturbed but..."

"What room?"

* * *

"Hey Bo, is Juliette in?"

"She asked not to be disturbed."

"I know but it's really important man. Come on...Glenn asked me to come. "

"Ok. " He knocked on the hotel room door. "Juliette. Avery Barkley is here. Juliette?...Juliette, are you awake?"

"Since when is she locked up in here?"

"Since yesterday evening."

Something wasn't right. He could feel it. Getting more and more worried, Avery started knocking on the door too. "Juliette?! Juliette?!...Do you have the key?"

"Yeah, hang on."

Bo opened the door, and both men entered the room.

"Juliette?"

Juliette's body lied lifeless on the bed. She was in an awkward position and had barely any clothes on.

"Oh my god! Juliette?! Juliette?! Wake up!"

Avery started shaking her but she was not responding.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Waiting game

The ride to the hospital had been excruciating, he felt so useless. The hospital was worse. Nobody was telling him anything and it was driving him crazy. Sometimes a nurse would walk past him with that look. Like they knew it was really bad, but didn't want to be the one to announce it. Bo, who was always so collected and calm, wasn't doing any better, pacing back and forth like a worried father.

Glenn was trying to keep things on the down low, but from what Avery heard of his conversation with Jeff on the phone, rumors of her OD-ing in a hotel room was already emerging. The vultures were having a field day. He hated those journalists, if they should be called that, they were the ones responsible for what happened.

Finally, a doctor approached them.

"Is any of you related to Miss Barnes?"

"She's an orphan, we're the only family she got." Glenn told him.

"Right. Well, not knowing exactly what she took, we did everything we could. Her heart stopped once but we revived her. She's stable now but we won't know for sure if it had any lasting effects until she wakes up."

He could feel the judgment dripping from the doctor's every words. Did he think they were her dealers or something? If he had known what she took he would have told them. But there was nothing in the hotel room, Bo had looked everywhere. He would have too, but he couldn't, wouldn't let go of her hand until the paramedics got there.

"Can we see her?" He heard his own voice ask, but it felt like it was coming from far away. He felt numb ever since the doctor said her heart had stopped. Like he was having an out of body experience. During a few seconds today, Juliette was dead. How could she? She was the most alive person he knew.

"Sure, but one at a time."

"Avery you go first, I need to make a few phone calls." Avery had the feeling Glenn was being gracious. He didn't argue. He needed to see her.

He entered her hospital room and saw her laying on the bed, like she was only taking a nap. He had seen her a few times during the tour, sleeping on a chair after rehearsals, just like that. Only then, he didn't know she would come to mean so much to him.

He sat beside her and took her hand like he had done while waiting for the paramedics. It was warmer now.

* * *

Avery kept looking at the vending machine like it was a math equation. He wasn't feeling hungry, but Glenn has insisted he ate something."You're going to scare her when she wakes up. " He finally bought some chocolate, but couldn't even open the package. It felt wrong to eat, drink, sleep while Juliette was laying on a hospital bed. His phone started vibrating again. 7 missed calls from Scarlett. He should pick up, but he didn't feel like pretending right now. Pretend he wasn't worried sick for Juliette, pretend he was in love with Scarlett, pretend he wasn't...

"She's awake!" He could have hugged the bodyguard right now.


	5. Chapter 5 - Back to the start

"Avery, come in, look who finally decided to wake up. She's being her usual diva, always making people wait for her." Glenn teased.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Avery asked softly. He realized they hadn't talk to each other since_ that night_. He hadn't had time to think about it, but now that fact was unavoidable. She seemed to realize it too, as her whole demeanor changed.

"I'm okay."

"The doctors examined her and she's doing great." "Well, I have a few phone calls to make, so..." and Glenn left the room.

"You scared us. Glenn was beside himself. He cares a lot about you, you know."

"Yeah, well he already cooked up a story for the media. The official version is that I was hospitalized for exhaustion. Like anyone is going to buy that. "

He sat next to her, trying to make eye contact but she was looking at everything but him.

"I was really worried too."

"That little incident is not gonna help rebuild my reputation though. I can already see the headlines: "The God-hater home wrecker is also a junkie."

'You shouldn't worry about that right now."

"I didn't try to kill myself."

"I didn't think you did." He knew her. He knew she wouldn't do that.

"Look, I don't know why Glenn called you, but you can go now. I'm not suicidal or even depressed. The pressure was too much, and I just wanted to forget everything for a little while. But I'm okay now."

"Glenn didn't call me."

"I don't understand."

"I came to Atlanta on my own. I came to talk to you at your hotel and that's when Bo and I, well we found you..."

"Oh."

"You changed your phone number."

"I didn't like this number, too many 6 in it."

They looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a long time.

* * *

A few weeks had passed, and they still hadn't talked about _that night_. They seemed to have gone back to the way it used to be between them. He would come to help her work on her songs, like he used to, and they would talk about everything. Everything but _that_.

"But everyone knows it's a fake now right?"

"Yeah, but the damage is done. Glenn is organizing a few events to try to balance out the bad press. Visiting kids in hospitals, charity concerts. He calls it The Redemption Tour."

"Has a nice ring to it."

"You would think so."

The door rang. "I bet it's Glenn with another one of his brilliant ideas. He probably wants to send me to Africa to build a school or something." Juliette went to open the door. She came back a few seconds later with flowers. She threw the bouquet in the trash without reading the card.

"Remind me to never send you flowers. You didn't even read the card!"

"I know who they're from." Avery looked at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"They're from Charlie. He has been sending them everyday since I got out from the hospital. 12 red roses."

It was official, he hated Charlie Wentworth. What was he trying to do? She wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place if it weren't for him. She would have never ended in the hospital, her heart wouldn't have stopped.

And he was still pursuing her. The nerve of the guy.

"Well that's sweet I guess."

"Not really, I hate roses. But how would he know? It's not like he really knew me."

Someone else did know her, but neither of them seemed ready to talk about it.


	6. Chapter 6 - Honesty

He had to write down this tune before it disappeared. Spending time with Juliette always had this effect on him. Words and melodies started going through his head and he couldn't wait to get home to put in all on paper. He opened the door and entered eagerly in his apartment.

"Hey! Did you miss me?"

"Scarlett?"

She ran into his arms and held him tight.

"God I needed this. You have no idea how lonely this tour has been." She let him go and went to take something from her suitcase.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to pick you up. I don't know why I thought you came back tomorrow."

"I was supposed to but I decided to fly back home. I couldn't bear to see Gunnar's stupid face any longer. Here I got you a souvenir."

"Thanks."

Scarlett started talking about the tour, how rude and difficult Luke Wheeler's fans were, how she didn't like to wake up in a strange city everyday, how Gunnar was the most selfish person she ever met... But Avery wasn't really listening. He could only think about one thing: he hadn't missed her.

* * *

Working in the Bluebird was starting to bore him. Sure he had more time to work on his music and he could try out his new songs here at night. Of course, he could go back on tour with Juliette but he didn't want to work _for_ her. And, If he were to ever go back on tour, he wanted it to play his music, not someone else's.

But waiting table was starting to depress him and he needed a change of scenery urgently. Or so he thought. Maybe, if he were really honest with himself, he'd know waiting table wasn't the real reason for his gloomy mood. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't seen Juliette in weeks since she had gone back on tour. But he couldn't dwell on that, because it would mean facing the end of the only thing that had been consistent in his life since he left home. And most importantly, hurting someone who had forgiven him when he hadn't deserved it.

"Hello stranger." He had missed this voice so much, hearing it again brought the biggest smile on his face. He wanted to spin her around in his arms and kiss her senseless, but he settled on giving her a friendly hug.

"When did you come back? How was the tour? Are you staying in Nashville for long?"

"This morning. It was great. And it's just a 3 weeks break before we start the next leg of the tour. I was thinking we could work on a few songs' idea I had. If you have time of course."

"For you, always. God it's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." He held her again in his arms, a little longer this time. Neither of them wanting to let go.

* * *

"Scarlett, are you home?" Avery noticed something different as soon as he got home. He just wasn't sure what that was. Scarlett came out from the bedroom with a suitcase in her hand.

That's what was different, Scarlett's things weren't there anymore.

"Going somewhere?"

"Avery, we need to talk."

"Ok, you're starting to scare me. What's going on?

"We can't keep pretending anymore. Things haven't been good between us, for a long time now. You've been moping around for weeks now and..."

"I'm sorry if I have been acting strange lately. I'm just...I guess I feel like I'm not going anywhere with my music and it's getting to me a little. But I promise you I'm not going to take it out on you like I did before."

"That's not what is wrong and I think you know it. "

"I don't understand...what are you talking about?"

"I came to see you at work today."

"You did? "

"Yes, and I saw you. I saw you with Juliette."

"I don't know what you think you saw, but I was just welcoming her back home."

"I saw how happy you were to see her. How you couldn't stop smiling. I saw how you looked at her. And then I remembered coming back home after the tour...Avery, you never looked at me that way."

"Scarlett...I..."

"I'm not blaming you. I was wrong too. I pretended I didn't understand what Juliette showing up at your place in the middle of the night meant. I pretended I didn't noticed how sad you've been since she went back on tour."

Hearing her saying it out loud made it a reality. He had been thinking about Juliette day and night since she showed up that night. When he thought he had lost her, that day he found her unconscious in that hotel room, he couldn't breathe. Spending time with her was always the best part of his day. He missed her like crazy everytime she went away. He had tried to convince himself he could just wish those feelings away, but everything was clear as day now. He couldn't deny it anymore. And neither did Scarlett.

"The truth is, lately I feel like everything is changing, going on tour, Gunnar and Zoey. I guess I wanted to hang on to the only thing that used to make sense for me: you and me."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He should have tried this whole honesty thing sooner.


	7. Chapter 7 - You snooze you lose

All he needed was to be honest and tell her how he really felt. Easy, right? Then why did he feel like a 12 year old asking a girl out for the first time in his life? He had already spent a few afternoons at her place since she came back, hanging out, like they always did. Writing songs, talking, watching TV. Maybe she didn't feel the same way for him anymore? Maybe he had waited too long and now she had moved on? There was only one way to know for sure.

"So, are you doing something tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm going on a stupid date."

That was so not the answer he was hoping for.

"A date?"

"It's part of Glenn's Redemption Tour. He thinks I should go on a date with a nice boy next door B-list celebrity so his niceness could rub off on me. And so any rumor about an ongoing affair with Charlie Wentworth could be put to rest once and for all. 2 birds with one stone."

She was trying to avoid looking him in the eyes, but when she finally did she saw it. He was disappointed and failing miserably at hiding it.

"And who is Prince Charming?"

* * *

_He's cute I guess. And it's just one date. It should be enough to feed the paparazzi for months if I play my cards right. It's just one date. So why do I feel guilty even being here? Avery has a girlfriend. What if he looked disappointed? He probably was just disappointed I would go back doing publicity stunts. I don't owe him anything._

"I don't"

"Ok I'll just order a glass then."

"Sorry what were you saying?"

"I...I asked you if you wanted wine."

He was nervous and she was totally ignoring him. She needed to put Avery out of her mind, because he was certainly not thinking about her when he was with Scarlett. She had decided when he came to see her at the hospital, that being just friends was enough. She was not going back on this.

"I'm sorry. I'm a little distracted. I was thinking of a song I'm writing."

Yeah right and it's called "Don't be delusional, you're just friends"

"It's ok, I was thinking of a character I'm playing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's the story of this guy who's basically a nervous wreck on his first date with a beautiful but intimidating country star."

"Sounds painful. She's probably a right mess who's totally ignoring him when he's being really sweet and charming."

"Well he wouldn't blame her. She's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen up close."

One date wouldn't hurt, right?

* * *

She was taking this whole Redemption Tour pretty seriously. Did she really have to go everywhere with that Jamie Carver guy? One date should have been more than enough. He hated his perfect teeth, and his perfect hair, and his perfect car ARGH! He knew he had waited too long. He just didn't want to be tacky, telling her how he felt 2 seconds after breaking up with Scarlett. And now, she was probably falling in love with that stupid B list actor, who was according to Glenn perfect boyfriend material. He hated Glenn.


	8. Chapter 8 - Friendly advice

"So we should go back to the chorus here, what do you think? Avery? Are you listening to me?"

Working with Gunnar was supposed to get his mind off Juliette but everything reminded him of her, and writing about lost love was certainly not helping.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"What's wrong man? You've been out of it since you got here. Trouble in paradise?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Scarlett, not that I want know about that, trust me."

"We broke up."

"Oh. Sorry I didn't know. She hasn't been really talking to me lately. Sucks I guess."

"Not really. We realized we didn't fit anymore and that was it."

"Well that's surprisingly mature and healthy of you two. So what's really going on with you?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yeah, why not? We're not getting anywhere with that song. Might as well tell me why you're being so useless today."

"Your sympathy warms my cold heart."

"Come on spill."

"I...well...I'm in love." That was the first time he admitted his feelings for Juliette out loud and he certainly never thought it would be to Gunnar.

"And that person you're in love with I'm guessing it's not Scarlett."

"No."

"Right. It's not Zoey I hope?"

"Of course not!"

"Just checking. I had enough love triangles to last me a lifetime. Don't tell me it's a man."

"No sorry to disappoint you Gunnar I'm not gay."

"I'm just trying to be open-minded. But you don't have the most exciting social life, so unless it's someone you met at the Bluebird I don't...Oh my god it's Juliette Barnes, isn't it?"

Avery didn't say anything but he didn't have to.

"I knew something was going on. You just don't lend a studio without..."

"She was just being a friend."

"Yeah right. Hey but she's going out with that actor, Jerry something right?"

"Jamie."

"Oh, you've been friendzoned."

"I hate this word. I haven't...Ok I have and it's driving me crazy. At least before we used to spend time together but now she's always with that Brad Pitt wannabe. Ok stop grinning now. You are enjoying this way too much."

"Sorry it's just too good. You're moping because the girl you're in love with is with some jerk who doesn't deserve her and it's killing you. The irony is priceless."

"And I was the jerk, right?"

"Well you said it. All right, let's be serious. Do you think she might see you as more than a friend?"

"I'm pretty sure she did."

"She told you?"

"Not exactly, but she showed up at 2 am at my place, and she said...well stuff, but Scarlett came out, half naked, of my bedroom. It kinda killed the mood. I never told Juliette I was back with Scarlett, not that it lasted anyway."

"And I guess Juliette showing up at 2 am was the reason you two broke up."

"Not exactly, but after that I guess my feelings for Juliette were pretty obvious."

"Does Juliette know that?"

"No, I haven't told her. Honestly we haven't talked about that night or Scarlett."

"So she showed up at your place in the middle of the night to tell you...stuff and find your half naked girlfriend. Then, as far she knows you're still with said girlfriend and haven't made any move to let her know you feel the same way about her. No surprised she decided to move on."

"Thank you for explaining to me with such clarity what a stupid fool I am."

"You are stupid but what are you going to do? Wait around keep on being stupid and hope she dumps the jerk, and trust me this could take years, or go for what you want? She put herself out there. It's your turn."


	9. Chapter 9 - Confession

Put himself out there. Easier said than done. She was seeing someone else. Even if he hated it, he had to admit she looked happy on those pictures. Maybe that's what she needed in her life. Someone who would understand what it was like to be under the public's eye 24/7. Sure he had tried to be there for her, but could he actually understand what she had been through? How it felt to have your every little actions and mistakes printed in magazines for everyone to judge. It would be selfish of him to come out with a ridiculous confession of love, when all she needed from him was friendship. Gunnar was being his usual romantic delusional self. It was probably the reason Scarlett fell for him in the first place. He wished he could see things like that but it's wasn't him. He could see things for what they were. Juliette might have felt something for him, but he had lost his chance by being an undecided fool.

"Hey are you seriously reading this stupid article about Jamie and me?"

"No I was just flipping through..."

"Just so you know I'm not pregnant. It was just a large shirt, it's supposed to look like that."

And it was probably his shirt. She was wearing his clothes now.

"Journalists are being relentless. Everyone seems to think you're heading into another shotgun wedding."

"No way am I getting married in the next 10 years. It was the stupidest thing I ever did. Well that and sleeping with a married man...and mixing booze with pills...and..."

She wanted to say "showing up at your door at 2 am to make a complete fool of myself" but she wasn't sure she was ready to joke about it just yet. She never asked him what Scarlett thought about her showing up in the middle of the night. The truth: she didn't want to talk about anything related to that night, Scarlett and how happy they were. Jamie was a nice distraction, but she still felt awkward around Avery. It actually made her really sad how she probably ruined what they used to have. He was still acting like he really cared about her, there was no doubt about that, he was always for there but she couldn't shake the feeling he was doing it out of guilt.

"Let's just say I made a lot of stupid mistakes."

"Well nobody's perfect. I made a lot of stupid decisions too." Like not telling her how he felt sooner or staying with Scarlett when his heart was with someone else.

"Yeah you burning up your masters was probably not one of your shining moment.

"Right..."

He wanted to ask her about her new boyfriend, but he didn't want to hear her say the words. Those 3 words would kill him for sure.

* * *

It was 7 am and they had been working on that new song all night.

"You want more coffee?" he asked her.

"Yes thank you. I can't believe we worked all night. I hadn't done that for so long. Actually I'm not sure I ever did."

"Passion would do that to you...I mean passion for music."

"Yes music of course. I guess with the glitter and the fame you kinda lose sight of that sometimes. Thank you for reminding me."

"Anytime. We make a great team."

"We do."

He handed her the coffee cup and they hands touched. He wasn't letting go of the cup. Why wasn't he letting go?

"I love writing with you." He told her, his eyes never leaving hers. She was starting to have trouble breathing, the way he looked at her. Was she imagining things?

"Scarlett is back on tour?" And just like that she broke the moment. She had no idea why she said that, the sleepless night must have fried her brains. She regretted it as soon as she said it. She didn't want to hear about him and Scarlett.

"I'm not sure, I think she's back."

"You _think_? Shouldn't you _know_ these kind of things?"

"We broke up actually. So I don't know about her everyday schedule."

"You broke up? I'm sorry."

"It's okay it was a long time coming anyway."

"So don't you think we should go back to the first verse at the end?"

As soon as he told her he broke up with Scarlett she could hear an alarm going off in her head. She couldn't go there again. She'd start getting her hopes up and he'd end up breaking her heart. She would not let him have that kind of power over her again.

"Yeah, sure. I guess if you feel that could work, we can try that."

He didn't expect her to jump for joy at the news he was single again, but some kind of reaction would have been nice. She had completely moved on, this much was obvious.

"Yes, I mean it could work like that's the end but it's back at the beginning again because she always makes the same mistake over and over again you know?" She needed to be mature. His personal life wasn't her business.

"It's pretty depressing, but ok."

Screw maturity, she had to know.

"Why did you broke up?"

She looked at him expectantly, trying not to sound hopeful.

"We got back together for the wrong reasons. She was feeling lonely and lost. And me, well I was trying to go back to that guy she fell in love with, the one I was before I came to Nashville and ambition basically destroyed every relationship I ever had. With my friends, with her."

"You felt guilty?"

"I guess. She forgave me after I treated her so badly. I was petty and jealous. A narcissist obnoxious jerk actually. You would have never been friend with that guy that's for sure."

"I can be a jerk too sometimes, so who am I to judge?"

"True, you're lucky you're cute. You can pretty much get away with anything."

"So it was a friendly break up? No plates throwing or name calling?"

"No sorry to disappoint you. It was pretty boring."

"Was it your idea?"

"No actually it was hers." Of course it was. That sounded too good to be true. He was still hung up on her and was trying to look tough, like it was okay with him.

"She made me realize we were both settling. We both changed and we didn't want the same things anymore. Or the same person as the case may be."

"You mean her? She wanted someone else?"

It was his opportunity, he had to tell her. The real reason he couldn't be with Scarlett. She might laugh at him, or worse feel bad for him. He could get his heartbroken and his pride bruised. But she was worth the risk.

"No I mean me. The last few months I've been really stupid. A coward really. I kept trying to make things work with Scarlett, trying to do the right thing by her, be the perfect boyfriend, and all this time the truth was staring me in the face. It happened so slowly really. Without realizing it I was letting go of Scarlett and I was falling ...hoplessly...irremediably...in love with my best friend."

The words were said, he couldn't take them back now.

She knew she should say something. Anything. That was the moment that could change their relationship irrevocably.

"You're not talking about that guy you write songs with...the tall scrawny guy?"

"No I'm not talking about Gunnar." He cupped her cheek, not leaving any doubt about who he was talking about.

"Just checking. I tend to jump to conclusions with you, and I end up saying things I shouldn't and make a fool of myself."

"I'm sorry about the other night. If I had known...I was stupid, and blind. I'm so sorry."

"You are stupid."

Just when he started to lean in to kiss her the door bell rang.

"God, who shows up at 8 in the morning? Seriously." And Juliette went to open the door, ready to get rid of the intruder as fast as possible.

"Hey baby girl! Did you miss me? I came directly from the airport." Jamie hugged her tight and kissed her. She was too surprised to react. She turned around checking if Avery hadn't seen that unwanted PDA. Luckily, he was still in the living room.

"Jamie! I was actually working and I completely forgot you were coming back this morning."

"Working at 8 am? What is so important that you would skip on your beauty sleep..." He entered the living room and was surprised to see they were not alone.

"You never met, this is Avery, we were working on a new song and I guess we pulled an all nighter. You know when inspiration strikes you..."

"Hey"

"Hi. So you work for Juliette. I'm Jamie. It's really nice to meet you."

"He doesn't work for me...I mean he used to be my lead guitarist but he's not anymore. We just write songs together but he's not...I mean he's a friend." She was rambling, she had no idea why she was telling Jamie this, but it felt wrong to have Avery introduced again as the hired help.

"Ok. Well nice to meet you "friend of Juliette". I hope I'm not interrupting, if you still need to work I'll be out you hair. I'll just go the bedroom. I'm exhausted anyway, I'll go lie down."

"No it's okay, I was about to leave actually."

"You were."

"Yes. I'll just..." Avery grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

"Avery wait..." That was not how it was supposed to happen. But Jamie was here, what was she supposed to say? Yes you were interrupting the most romantic moment of my life, could you go lie down somewhere else? Why their timing always sucked?

"I don't think we're totally done with the song. Can I call you later to talk about it?"

"Sure. Anytime." He smiled at her sadly and walked out.


End file.
